Various Artists: WattStax: Music From The WattStax Festival And Film - Disc 2 of 3 CD Track Listing

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Various Artists WattStax: Music From The WattStax Festival And Film - Disc 2 of 3 (1972)
WattStax: Music From The WattStax Festival And Film - Disc 2 of 3\n2007 Stax Records/Concord Music\n\nRecorded August 20, 1972\n3CD Compilation Originally Released in UK 2003 (Ace/Stax Records)\n3CD Compilation Reissued + Released in USA August 28, 2007\n\n'Wattstax: The Living Word (Concert Music from the Original Movie Soundtrack)' LP Originally Released 1972\n'Wattstax: The Living Word, Vol. 2' LP Originally Released 1973\n\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: As it is with the multiple Woodstock soundtrack albums, it's hard to keep up with what's on the soundtrack discs bearing the name Wattstax in the title, counting the two initial volumes that came out in the 1970s, and now this three-CD package. Making matters more confusing is how, as the title of this set infers, the albums mix music from the festival with music from, or somehow associated with, the film Wattstax (which had some scenes, musical and otherwise, that actually didn't take place at the Wattstax festival itself). And to make matters yet more confusing, Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film, for all its generous length, isn't simply a combination of the Wattstax music that appeared in the '70s on either Wattstax, The Living Word: Live Concert Music from the Original Movie Soundtrack or Wattstax: The Living Word, Vol. 2. A lot of tracks from those albums do appear on these three CDs, but some don't; plus, Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film adds 17 previously unreleased songs, as well as one (Isaac Hayes' "Theme from Shaft") that previously appeared on Isaac Hayes at Wattstax. It's something of a head-hurting exercise to keep it all straight. But ultimately, the most important thing to bear in mind is that Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film is the best, and certainly most bountiful, of the Wattstax-spawned discs, though it's marred by the exclusion of some previously issued tracks from the other Wattstax releases.\n\nMost of this was indeed recorded at the Wattstax festival on August 20, 1972, featuring live soul from many artists on the Stax label. Most of the best performances from the previous Wattstax iterations were retained, among them well-recorded selections by the Staple Singers (whose four songs include "Respect Yourself" and "I'll Take You There"), Eddie Floyd (doing "Knock on Wood"), the Bar-Kays (whose nine-minute "Son of Shaft/Feel It" is a highlight), Albert King, Carla Thomas, Johnnie Taylor (with an eight-minute "Steal Away"), the Emotions, and Rufus Thomas. Some of the best cuts, however, are found in the dynamic previously unreleased material by lesser-known Stax artists, like Louise McCord's "Better Get a Move On," Lee Sain's "Them Hot Pants," Little Sonny's funk-blues "Wade in the Water," the Newcomers' Jackson Five-like "Pin the Tail on the Donkey," and Mel & Tim's hit "Backfield in Motion." The addition of some gospel songs also reflects the breadth of music at the festival, though the gospel tunes aren't as inspiring as the soul ones. On the whole, it's an important document of some of the better, live-'70s soul recordings. Arguably, however, some of the less interesting, previously unissued songs, should have been excluded to make room for some tracks by Albert King, Johnny Taylor, and Little Milton that showed up on the two Wattstax, the Living Word volumes, but somehow didn't make it onto Music from the Wattstax Festival & Film. -- Richie Unterberger\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Review\nCalling this August 1972 concert comprised exclusively of Stax artists "Wattstock" or even the "black Woodstock" pushes the boundaries of the day-long event past its breaking point. But there is no doubt that Wattstax, held in a jittery post-riot Watts atmosphere, was an iconic cultural milestone deserving of a better recorded legacy than the two double albums that initially emerged from it, both of which were surreptitiously padded with studio tracks to enhance the roster. This three-disc, nearly four-hour-long deluxe 35th anniversary edition gets it right--or more right--by excluding the bogus material, adding a over an hour of previously unreleased music, and presenting it in an expanded package that includes a detailed essay by Stax historian Rob Bowman. The show's gospel aspect is further highlighted with plenty of Staple Singers, the amazing Rance Allen Group, and obscure blues harp player Little Sonny ripping into an instrumental version of "Wade in the Water." Comedy snippets from a young Richard Pryor and Jesse Jackson's opening speech, which appeared in the associated film, could have been excised, but nearly entire sets from Carla and Rufus Thomas, the Bar-Kays, and David Porter are worthy additions. Only the ubiquitous "Theme from Shaft" remains from Isaac Hayes's hour-long closing, but his full performance is available separately. The Emotions, Johnny Taylor, Little Milton, and a few others who didn't play the actual festival were recorded at other L.A. venues in the days around the concert, bringing a bit of a spurious element to this otherwise classy souvenir from a historically important and vibrant occasion. --Hal Horowitz \n\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nblown away..., October 10, 2007 \nBy Eddie Landsberg "jazz organist and Jazz/Soul ... (Tokyo, Japan)\nThis album is unbelievable and the epitome of a one-of-a-kind/no other like it listening experience... \n\nI remember coming across the original WATTSAX album back in the 80's when I was a 70's soul collector in HS... and for the next several years it became staple listening via the tape copies I'd carry around visa vis my Sony Walkmans... Needless to say, the discovery of a second volume of the "mythical" concert blew me away, and I liked it just as much if not more... I loved the album not only because of all the great music... but the way it really took you back to a lost world... at a time when people were celebrating a very vibrant musical and artistic culture. Not to over romantisize... the community had been through a lot of pain, and were healing and rebuilding from the Watts riots... Rather than focusing, however, on what had been "burnt down", the concert was a celebration of what was being built up... and wow... imagine what it must have been like to be at that cocnert... - - As for the film... you know something: I never even DREAMED of being able to see it, because I assumed it was probably one of those lost things... Needless to say, when it came out almost 20 years later after I heard the album the first time, I was definitely THRILLED... (especially after people taunted me of having supposedly seen it on PBS... "Yeah really, anybody got a copy?" I'd ask...) Wishful thinking... \n\nO.K. now... look at this: Now only is a three box set out... but tracks that never made the original album, and with the sound cleaned up. - - As Jesse Jackson points out the concert had everything... Gospel, Funk, Blues, Soul, R&B... Listening to the tracks I never heard before is definitely a thrill, though in retrospect I can tell why some were left off the original album... a lot of the performances were POWERFULLY GREAT... but some of the smaller groups sounded like some of the other groups... so the big groups had to take priority. \n\nIn conclusion - - Just as WOODSTOCK was the big "party like its the end of the world" goodbye to the 60's, WATTSTAX was also somewhat of a final goodbye too, as even that empire would crumble shortly after... Also gone is much of the culture and spirit of the era... The only catch is, I think this was actually filmed and recorded WAY BETTER than WOODSTOCK, and far from being lost in time, its a gift passed through time... \n\nRegarding my favorite tracks... Back in the day I leaned towards RUFUS THOMAS and the DRAMATICS (omitted)... as well as the EMOTIONS unbelievably riveting performance... but I'm also majorly digging the newly added stuff... in particular Louis McCord's "Do Your Thing'ish" Better Get a Move On... as well as Lee Sain's THEM HOT PANTS. \n\nOf course, STAX in the '60s were the epitome of classic soul... however, this record as well as the (hard to find) SON OF STAX compilation is a great reminder that the label definitely didn't fall short when it came to funk as well... \n\nFor the complete story read "Soulsville U.S.A.: The Story Of Stax Records" by Rob Bowman. \n\nO.K. the big question: When's some more SHACK going to get unearthed? \n\n\nHalf.com Album Notes\nMUSIC FROM THE WATTSTAX FESTIVAL & FILM is a three-disc set that documents the 1970s music festival. This glorious three disc set includes more than 3 hours of outstanding music, with almost a third of this repertoire never previously available. The Staple Singers, Rufus Thomas, and Isaac Hayes are among the performers featured.
This rock cd contains 15 tracks and runs 74min 41sec.
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